Freshman Jeremiah McClain, left, and sophomore Morgan McIntyre work on a lab assignment required to earn their degrees in petroleum and natural gas engineering.

It’s a competitive world, and timing is everything.

With an increasing demand for petroleum and natural gas that has led to industry job growth, Slippery Rock University’s bachelor’s program focusing on those industries couldn’t have come at a better time.

The growth of the industry has been backed by statistics from the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Statistics.

With an estimated 33,700 jobs as of 2016, the bureau projected a 15 percent growth in jobs through 2026. Data collected from engineers in the industry pegged the median pay in 2017 at $132,280, according to the bureau.

Steven Wei — professor and director of the engineering program, which launched two years ago — said the university now has about 10 juniors, 20 sophomores and between 20 to 25 freshmen in the program who will be hitting the job market in the stride of the growth.

“Petroleum industry right now is really good. They are one of the fastest growing engineering professions,” Wei said. “Oil and gas will still be there for a good amount of time.”

Wei said programs around the country are looking to fill the demand, but unlike other programs, SRU trains its students so that they are better prepared.

“We can provide our students with the skills they need once they reach the industry,” Wei said. “We hope the on-the-job training is minimized if we can align our program with the need of the industry.”

Read more about jobs in the petroleum industry in the Butler Eagle.